QCOSTARICA – Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado is just another citizen when it comes to covid-19 vaccination, given his young age and good health, having to wait his turn for his jab.
“They haven’t called me, the doctors who check me are seeing to that, but I’m registered and I’m waiting for them to call me,” Alvarado told Radio Monumental in a recent interview when asked about his vaccination.
The President explained that his doctors are considering the possibility that he is part of one of the risk groups with priority vaccination against Covid-19, affirming that it is a matter up to them and not him.
What he did mention is that it requires that there are different conditions between the various health areas, since there are sectors where even group 4 has already been advanced, while in others there are rather people reluctant to apply the vaccine.
In December 2020, the Ministry of Health set out five groups in priority to be vaccinated:
- Group 1: Workers of long-stay homes, of the Social Security Fund, Ministry of Health, personnel who work in private hospitals, National Emergency Commission, Firefighters, Red Cross and security, traffic, migration, penitentiary, municipal and OIJ police forces.
- Group 2: People aged 58 and over, whether or not they have risk factors.
- Group 3: Children between the ages of 12 and 16 with a risk factor join the group and will be vaccinated with Pfizer. Population from 16 to 18 years of age not fulfilled with at least one risk factor joins the group and will only receive Pfizer vaccine. Between 18 and 58 years of age with hypertension, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, heart disease, grade III and morbid obesity, patients with cancer, chronic respiratory and other factors.
- Group 4: Officials of the MEP, private sector, prisoners, officials of shelters of PANI, personnel of the center of integral attention, 9-1-1 emergencies, and solid waste collectors and AyA operative officials are integrated.
- Group 5: Health science students and technicians related to clinical fields of the Caja, population from 40 to 57 who do not have other of the risks previously described, but who carry out work activities related to contact with people or impact on the productive sector, such as agriculture, construction, customer service, restaurants, domestic workers, among others. People between 12 and 16 years old who do not have any disease that complicate the contagion are integrated into the group.
Given President Alvarado’s age, 40, and no risk factors that would bump up the ladder, his turn is group 5. When he will be vaccinated depends on the country’s receiving of vaccines and speed at which the CCSS can apply them.
